Focused phonics guideVowel patterns

How do children choose between au and aw?

Quick answer

AU and AW commonly represent a similar vowel sound in words such as haul and saw. The sound alone does not always determine which grapheme to write, so children need spelling-family experience.

Pattern to notice

AU and AW patterns

Standard term: Alternative vowel spellings, usually monophthongs

AU/AW commonly represent the vowel in haul/saw; pronunciation varies by accent. The curriculum uses the teaching label Diphthongs AU and AW.

auaw

Where this fits in the phonics journey

Advanced phonics patterns

This concept belongs after core digraphs, vowel patterns and early decoding are reasonably secure. The prerequisite and next-step links on this page show the surrounding learning sequence.

What the child should be able to do

Read and compare familiar au and aw words as related vowel spellings within a controlled pronunciation family.

When this pattern does not apply

Do not claim one universal pronunciation across accents or assume au and aw can be swapped freely in spelling.

Reading use

Recognise au and aw as vowel spellings in words such as haul and saw, with awareness that pronunciation varies by accent.

Spelling use

Use word-specific and positional knowledge to retain au or aw rather than choosing from sound alone.

Tiny Steps curriculum connection

Direct lesson alignment

Early PhonicsLesson 36: Diphthongs AU and AW
Advanced PhonicsLesson 17: Diphthongs OI, OY, AU, and AW

How to teach this pattern

Teach one spelling set, then compare the second in a controlled word sort.
Use position and known-word memory as clues without claiming a perfect rule.

Common confusions to watch for

Expecting the sound alone to identify whether au or aw is correct.
Introducing too many alternative spellings for the same sound at once.

Simple practice ideas

Sort decoded words into au and aw columns.
Dictate a known mixed set and recall the spelling family.

Learning sequence

Helpful first

OI and OY

What can come next

OU and OW

Explore related phonics patterns

More from vowel patterns

These links are selected from the published Tiny Steps phonics graph, prioritising nearby patterns in the same family before adjacent curriculum concepts.

Browse all phonics resources →

OI and OYOI and OY commonly represent the same vowel sound. OI is often found inside a word, as in coin, while OY often appears at the end, as in boy. Position is a useful spelling tendency, not an absolute rule.OO: moon vs bookOO commonly appears with more than one pronunciation, including the sound in moon and the shorter sound in book. Children should learn the patterns in contrast sets rather than force every oo word into one family.OU and OWOU and OW can represent the /ow/ sound in words such as out and cow, but both spellings also appear in other pronunciation patterns. Early teaching should use a controlled /ow/ set first, then add alternatives explicitly.UI vowel soundUI represents /oo/ in fruit, suit and juice. Other ui words, such as build, use a different pronunciation, so teach a selected family rather than one pronunciation for every adjacent u and i.

Related Tiny Steps resources

Keep the pattern inside the bigger reading pathway

Back to Phonics & Reading →

Your next learning step

Continue with the learning path that matches this need

If this is the same need you see in your child, the relevant programme is the most useful next step.

Explore the Tiny Steps phonics programme